The United States Constitution currently in force, when compared to the Confederate Constitutions (provisional and final) used by the Southern Confederacy between 1861-1865, comes out as the less libertarian document. The Confederate Constitution was superior because:

it removed reference to ‘general welfare’ in section 8, thus nullifying any possibility that the phrase ‘general welfare’ could be used as an independent source of power by Congress and thereby limiting its scope.

it limited the purposes for which Congress could lay taxes, duties, imposts and excises. Unlike the US Constitution, in which Congress has a broad discretion for the purposes for which it can lay taxes, the Confederate Constitution limits the central government to revenue needed to (1) pay off debts; (2) provide for the common defence; and (3) carry on the government of the Confederate States. In this way it discourages a protectionist purpose, stating explicitly that import tariffs cannot be so high as to ‘promote or foster any branch of industry’.

the Confederate constitution placed limits on appropriation of money for internal improvements and mandates a two-thirds majority vote on appropriations (unless requested by the President) thereby limiting pork-barrel spending by the central government.